1. Field of the Invention
The invention is drawn to a group of compounds with specific structure, which possess anti-cancer activity. It also relates to their use in human and other mammalian subjects for cancer therapy, prevention, and immune boosting and inflammation functions.
2. Description of the Background
JP-A 04295423 and JP-B 07072134, each to Daiichi, disclose anti-cancer agents containing MeCHR(CH2)nCOOH wherein R is C1–C5 alkyl and n=4–22. U.S. Pat. No. 4,985,466 to Deguchi disclose a method for treating tumor susceptible to treatment with a wool fatty acid, or its reduced alcohol, metal salt or aliphatic ester derivative, or a wool alcohol, or its carboxylic acid, aliphatic ether or aliphatic ester derivative. Deguchi additionally disclose that it is characteristic of wool fatty acid and wool alcohol to contain a large quantity of iso- and anteiso-higher saturated aliphatic acids and alcohols.
However, none of the above prior art recognizes Applicant's discovery that the anti-cancer activity resides in a terminal branch structure and a leading end group per se directly linked at opposite ends, respectively, to a long chain group.
A group of specific iso- and anteiso-branched-chain fatty acids with significant anti-cancer effect has been described in Applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 6,214,875. Such compounds as described in the above Applicant's U.S. patent, and derivatives thereof obtained by reacting the acid moiety thereof, are described in Applicant's U.S. application Ser. No. 09/647,918, which is a 371 application of PCT/US99/06525, filed Apr. 14, 1999, and which was published as WO 99/53086 on Oct. 21, 1999, which WO 99/53086 is hereby incorporated by reference.
These compounds have shown excellent cytotoxic activity through induction of apoptosis against a broad variety of cancer cells, including, but not limited to, leukemia, breast cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer, with extremely low toxicity to experimental animals.
Applicant's WO 01/59067 describes a group of anti-cancer compounds which are comprised of three parts: an end-terminal group, which is isopropyl, sec.-butyl, or tert.-butyl group; a leading group; and a long-chain aliphatic, non-cyclic, saturated or unsaturated, hydrocarbon group that links the end-terminal group and the leading group.
This specific group of compounds, described in WO 01/59067 is illustrated by the following three formulae (1), (2) or (3):

wherein n is an integer of at least 5, m is an even integer from 0 to 2b, inclusively, wherein b is the maximum number of unsaturated bonds on the long chain (a double bond is assigned as 1 and a triple bond is assigned as 2), and R can be any polar group.